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After competing on ABC’s “American Idol,” finalists often go out on their own and try to make it in the music industry. The competition often offers a bit of momentum even if there is no record deal to be had at the end of it.
For season 6 contestant Leslie Hunt, that was the case. The singer-songwriter was 25 years old when she placed in the top 20 of the competition, and after the show, she was the leader of the band District 97.
Now, Hunt has announced that her second solo EP will be released this year.
Hunt’s EP Releases on October 22
The new EP, which will consist of 7 tracks and is a solo effort, is titled “Descend.” According to Broadway World, it’s the second in the set, which was started with the EP “Ascend,” released by Hunt in June 2021.
The songs, according to the outlet, are about individual freedoms and “their attempt to find a place within an increasingly complex and sometimes harsh society.” The songs on Ascend, according to Broadway World, dealt with the heart and soul and may have been less abstract.
Ahead of the release of “Ascend,” the EP was described as “gorgeous.”
The album, according to Louder Sound, was described as a “collection of seven exquisite new songs, each one brilliantly written and performed, displaying an honesty and grace mixed with an impassioned beauty. Seven gorgeous and affecting reflections on how we’ve all no doubt felt about love and life at some point in our lives, captured and expertly shaped in the hands of this studied artist.”
Hunt Is Currently On Tour With Her Band
According to Hunt’s Instagram, she is currently on tour.
On September 5, 2021, she announced her then-upcoming tour with her band District 97. All the details for the tour can be found online here.
Here are the dates the band will be playing for their “Touroween 2021:”
- October 26: Zanzabar in Louisville, Kentucky
- October 28: The Brass Mug in Tampa, Florida
- October 29: Bar Nancy in Miami, Florida
- October 30: Progoween Festival in Brooksville, Florida
- November 1: Sweetwater in Duluth, Georgia
- November 2: Exit/In in Nashville, Tennessee
- November 4: Sweetwater in Fort Wayne, Indiana
- November 19: Reggies in Chicago
In 2016, Hunt talked about what her time was like on “American Idol” and how the show motivated her to continue her career.
“In general, I’m a little quirky,” Hunt told the Chicago Tribune at the time. “I did jazz scat singing on national television.”
She later added, “Reality TV is not as real as you might think. The judges make their comments based on notes the executive producers gave them about us. I told them all kinds of information about myself, but the caption under my picture read, ‘Leslie Hunt, dog walker.'”
The singer also said that she wanted to take risks in her career.
“You’ve got to take risks and take chances, and you never know what will happen,” she shared with the outlet in 2016. “I ended up on ‘American Idol,’ which was both hilarious for me and awesome.”
“American Idol” will return for the monumental season 20 in early 2022.
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